On the sedan taking them back to the An family home, An Nuan said very seriously to Li YaJu, "Mom, in addition to not being so foolishly filial to Grandma, you don't need to make concessions to Uncle's family at every turn."
Li YaJu smiled helplessly and said, "Your dad is also trying not to provoke conflict within the family. Reasonably, the An family inheritance should have gone to the eldest son, but your grandfather gave everything to your dad. It's understandable that your uncle's family is unhappy."
"But that's no excuse for Uncle's family to bully us like this. Mom, our family has always had a flawed logic, thinking it's only right that the family business should go to the eldest son. As the second son who inherited the family estate, it's seen as disrespectful to the elder son! But think about it the other way around - why didn't the eldest son inherit the family estate but the second son did?"
Li YaJu was taken aback, she really hadn't thought of that.
"That's because the eldest son was incompetent, he couldn't shoulder the burden of the family, so Grandpa chose my dad instead. Not only should we not feel guilty, we should hold our head high - it's our family that upheld the An family business. All the An clan members, including my uncle, should be thanking us instead of ridiculing and oppressing us like they do now."
At that moment, An Nuan had clearly convinced her mother.
All this time, they had put themselves in the lowest position, precisely to avoid internal conflict. But now, thinking about it, inheriting the family estate was due to ability. Why should they still suffer such slander!
Seeing her mother seemed to understand, An Nuan said, "So Mom, when dealing with everyone in the An family in the future, have confidence. Otherwise, they'll really think they're in the right!"
"Okay." Li YaJu readily agreed, "Trying to appease in the An family won't bring peace, it only lets them take more advantage."
"My mom gets it with just a hint!" An Nuan praised.
Li YaJu smiled indulgently, "Didn't you make it very clear today?"
Yes.
But it wasn't a complete demonstration for her mom.
What she did today was also deliberately provoking An Zhao.
To be precise, it was to provoke An Xiao.
She was now enjoying unlimited glory. An Zhao must be jealous, after all An Zhao always felt that she was the An family eldest miss, so she was always comparing herself to An Nuan, unable to tolerate An Nuan having more and living better than her.
Once An Zhao became jealous, she would do irrational things. But An Zhao wasn't smart, she didn't have as many schemes as An Xiao. To please An Zhao, An Xiao would surely advise her.
Of course, An Xiao didn't have An Zhao's best interests in mind with her plans.
Everything she did was only to bring An Zhao down.
An Nuan laughed coldly.
Fortunately, she had lived one lifetime already, so she knew everyone's true nature. She could take advantage of these people's sinister cunning to achieve her goals!
After all, it wouldn't be easy to get blackmail material on Gu Yan Sheng before marrying him. When it came down to it, Gu Yan Sheng was also a cautious man. He probably wouldn't dare to mess around before getting married. But if someone took the initiative to throw themselves at him... A man like Gu Yan Sheng who was incurably lustful would obediently give in.
She was just waiting to reap the rewards.
When An Nuan and Li YaJu returned to the An family villa, they were surprised to find An YanYuan had also returned.
Seeing them return together was still somewhat startling to him, "Where did you go out so early?"
"To Grandma's house," An Xiao replied.
An YanYuan's expression clearly changed. With some reproach in his tone he said, "Going over there, why didn't you let me know? I should have gone with you."
In her previous life, she had avoided the An family ancestral home and those people like the plague.
Thinking back now, she didn't give her family enough credit.
After all, despite her family being so deferential and trying their utmost to please them, the An family had joined forces with the Gu family to wipe out her entire family!
Before An Nuan could speak, Li YaJu smiled and said, "From now on, focus on your work. I'll handle family matters, no need to bother yourself."
An YanYuan was clearly somewhat confused.
In the past, whenever they had to go back to the An family ancestral home, Li YaJu had been anxious and even depressed for days afterwards. Yet now, she was clearly still in a good mood.
"Oh right, why did you suddenly come back, something happened?" Li YaJu directly changed the topic.
An YanYuan had many doubts originally, but thinking of the matter at hand, he didn't ask further and replied, "Old Gu said to have lunch at their home today, to discuss An Nuan and Yan Sheng's wedding next month."
As he spoke, he couldn't help but glance at An Nuan.
An Nuan smiled and said very calmly, "Let's go."
"Didn't we plan to call off the engagement?" An YanYuan couldn't help but say.
"That's for later. For now whatever the Gu family says, we'll fully cooperate..." Acting.
So that the slap will be even more resounding.
"Alright." An YanYuan didn't say more.
Since they had agreed to let their daughter resolve this marriage herself, they would naturally follow her arrangements completely.
So the family didn't delay, changing into proper attire before heading directly to the Gu family villa.
At the villa entrance, Gu family elders Gu WenQuan and his wife, as well as Gu Yan Sheng and his sister Gu YanXuan enthusiastically welcomed them at the door.
The former An Nuan had always thought it was because the Gu family valued her family that they welcomed them so warmly.
Now she finally realized it was just an act.
The moment An Nuan got out of the car, she saw the paparazzi hiding in the shadows.
One should know that in high-end villa districts, unless intentionally arranged, not even a fly could get in.
She remained expressionless, accepting their enthusiastic welcome just like her parents.
The group entered the Gu family villa.
Coincidentally it was lunch time, so everyone sat around the Gu family's large round table. Before them was a feast of seafood and delicacies, seemingly very sincere.
"I originally wanted to arrange it on the weekend, since Old An has work and Yan Sheng does too. But I also felt time was tight, and admittedly am a little impatient, so I decided not to delay and chose today. Hope it didn't impact Old An's work too much!" Gu WenQuan said, with the air of a kindly old man.
An Nuan sneered to herself.
Not delay? More like the Gu family's reputation took a hit yesterday leading to a stock market crash, so they had ulterior motives!
"We're all family, what impact or no impact, that's being too courteous!" An YanYuan was also a veteran of the commercial sphere, well-versed in business banter. "At my age, work is left to my subordinates. I don't need to manage so much anymore."
"I'll help share Uncle's burden more in the future too," Gu Yan Sheng quickly added, appearing very polite.
"Uncle's been waiting to hear you say that. After you marry An Nuan, the An family enterprises will rely on you," An YanYuan said, sounding very straightforward.
An Nuan's mouth quirked up slightly.
Not bad, her dad's acting wasn't bad either.
"Uncle, rest assured, I will certainly do my duty diligently," Gu Yan Sheng said upon hearing An YanYuan's words, joy and delight evident in his expression.